What is happening in Racine, Wisconsin and around the world
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The Soccer World Cup, that event that makes the world insane, starts tomorrow. I have been a long time fan, watching the Minnesota Kicks of the old NASL in the early days of ESPN, and a longtime World Cup watcher.

The first World Cup I remember watching was in 1990. Wasn't televised in the U.S. much back then and I watched several games on the Spanish language station in Chicago with my roommates (strangely, all five of us spoke German to varying degrees and no one spoke Spanish...Germany won the Cup that year). In 1994, I went to a game at the Silverdome in Detroit where they played on special grass grown to survive indoors (from Michigan State University where I just finished my M.S.) Russia vs Sweeden. Still have the fancy ticket stub. On a side note, I was looking for a job and one of the hiring people at a school in Ohio I was talking to mentioned he was attending the same game. I had a preliminary job interview outside the Silverdome (didn't end up getting that job, but I think the one I finally got in Florida was a much better fit for me so it all worked out in the end).

In 1998 I was driving out to Yellowstone and was camping in the Badlands the night before the World Cup final. I got up and drove to the nearest place, Wall, South Dakota (home of Wall Drug) and found the one bar in town showing the France-Brazil final. It was a great place to watch since everyone was there to watch the game while their families were being tourists across the street at Wall Drug. Great crowd to watch the game (for the record, I went to Wall Drug after the game and ended up camping near Mount Rushmore that night).

In 2002, I was at Yerkes Observatory when the U.S. played Germany in the quarterfinals. One of the Yerkes staff let a few of us come over to her place at 6am to watch the game the next morning (after late night observing). I watched a lot of games in 2006, but no good stories as I was actually home for most of that one!

When I was teaching in Florida, the U.S. under 17 National Team was training in Bradenton. Many of the team members ended up playing high school soccer for a local school, Bradenton Academy. Several of these students are now playing on the World Cup team and I saw them play high school soccer and even chatted with them several times after games (they only played in the playoffs and big tournaments which caused lots of controversy and led to some changes in eligibility rules).

Of course, I already have planned how to catch all the U.S. games and the best of the first round matches (can't watch all of them!) and my DVR set to record ones I want to see that I can't fit my work schedule around. The U.S. games I can catch without missing work since the first one is on Saturday morning and the start time of the others is 5am here.

Who else is watching? Who will win? Is this a typical group of Americans who doesn't care or a bunch who embraces the beautiful game?

As we become more dependent on the internet for news and search sites such as google, bing and yahoo, we also become more susceptible to manipulation of said sources. We have seen google bombing in the past (remember the search term "miserable failure" used to lead to Bush's biography on the White House web site...ironically, the search term pointed to Obama's biography for a little while since they just swapped biographies on the same page when he took office...this google bomb has been defused).

Well, BP isn't being quite that sleazy, but they are buying placement. Fortunately, their results appear in sponsored links so people that are not totally clueless about the internet know its a paid ad. Go ahead and type in phrases like "oil spill" or "BP oil spill" to get the link to BP's site. Either takes gets you the ad on google. On Bing, "oil spill" gets the ad but "BP oil spill" does not. On Yahoo, they both work.

Not to be outdone, anyone care to guess what you get if you type in something like "oil spill lawsuit"? Of course you get BP's site saying why you should not sue them. On Bing and Google, you get ads for lawyers!

I don't have a huge problem with the PR efforts as long as they are clearly labeled as sponsored links (I even saw a friend on facebook advocate clicking these links repeatedly because it costs them money each time someone does...I think that is too much effort for too little effect but that's just me).

Just another warning that there are lots of people out there on the internet trying to steer you to their sites.

I thought I would bring you all up to date on my hearing loss...anyone who has seen me in the last year knows that my hearing has deteriorated tremendously due to tinnitus. I wear two hearing aids.

My niece mentioned to me a couple of months back that her ENT (ear, nose, throat) had told her about a product on the market called arches Tinnitus Relief Formula. Available only by calling an 800 # or on-line.

I have been taking four capsules a day for about a month now and I think it is helping somewhat. It is subtle, but I can now distinquish more words than I could in the past. I was at 30% voice recognition in my right ear, but I think that has improved quite a bit.

The next time I'm tested (later this year), I'll let you know what percentage shows up. But I truly think this stuff might work.

Down side of this is that the stuff costs about $40/bottle for a 25 day supply. If it works, it is definitely worth it. Oh and I don't take the b supplement they want you to buy with it...figured I could just buy a B complex for a lot less than $30-some a bottle!

Okay, enough of that advertisement for arches!

Next:

With my hearing problem, I find that all this background music on some of the TV programs is causing me more problems than before. I think they are increasing the volume of the music...anyone else noticing this? I truly love to watch The Mentalist, but it seems like I miss more and more dialogue because of the music. Forget Hallmark movies...way too much music for me.

Anyone else noticing this?

Oh, what I can hear with or without my hearing aids are the commercials...Don't they dare try and tell me they don't up the volume for those!

Hello, my waterlogged wallabies! How are you? Are you keeping your powder dry? That can be difficult in weather like we’ve recently had. My poor baby veggie plants are drowning (and freezing) in their beds. Enough with the weather walloping, Mother Nature, dear. Please, dear, please. Moderation in all things is so much more pleasant than going to extremes. Please give plants and animals a chance to enjoy some sunshine and grow. Show us your beautiful side, Mother Nature, tell us stories of bright and breeze. Caress us in your arms. Whisper us to sleep. Dream us summer, warm and free.

Oh my, I waxed poetic. The season does that to me. Spring’s flush of growth can be intoxicating. Perhaps I’m tipsy.

Have any of my dear Irregulars been to downtown Racine to try out the new rubber sidewalk christened by Mayor Dickert last Friday? http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/article_4e37038e-7033-11df-b33c-001cc4c03286.html I haven’t had a chance to stop by yet and see how the sidewalk performs. I’m not even sure what I’m looking for or what to expect. I just like the idea of a softer, bouncier, squishier world. Not to be a punster, but wouldn’t it have been more appropriate to install the new sidewalk in Rubberville? Or does that have a new name now, too? I don’t know the latest appellations for the trendy neighborhoods in Racine. Until I read the article about the rubber sidewalks, I didn’t know that area in downtown is called Crosswalk Park. A long time ago, I knew some people who lived across the street from there, above the storefronts. Bohemians, or artists, or something like that. They were all nuts. Oh dear.

Speaking of nuts, my ex-brother-in-law recently reared his ugly head in my life again. Marko (I know – Polo – tee-hee), my ex-husband’s youngest brother, usually shows up when he has worn out his welcome everywhere else. I don’t want to imply that he is dishonest, but he is a thief, a liar, and a scoundrel. He only appears when he is in need. And whatever he needs, someone else is expected to pay for it. He was waiting for me when I returned home Saturday. Junior wisely had not let him in - he knows Uncle Marko. I, too, refused him entry, but his passionate pleas for a place to sleep led me to allow him to spend the night on our enclosed porch. Of course, in the morning he needed to use the bathroom. I had no choice but to let him in. And like any Zoltar worth his salt, once his foot was in the door, it was impossible to remove. He’s been sleeping in the spare room. I’ve hidden every valuable that I can think of and Junior is under strict orders to observe Uncle Marko at all times when I am not there. I do have a business to run, and it is only made more difficult worrying about what a freeloader might do to my home when I am away.

I know that I should stick up for myself and just tell Marko to go away, but I can’t bring myself to do it. It’s not that I’m afraid of him or anything like that. It’s more like I feel a little fondness and a lot of sadness for him. He’s not a particularly good influence on Junior, but he is family, what’s left of it. He usually stays for a week or two, then is on his way, to “visit” someone else. I don’t mind helping out, I just don’t want to be taken advantage of. Balance, again, moderation. Sometimes a difficult discipline to attain.

Well thank you for taking some time out of your day to share with me. The JT Irregulars are the best bunch of people since the founding fathers of our great nation. I mean that. They come in different sizes and persuasions, but are all united in their common independence. I’m so proud to be a member of this group, and so proud of each and every Irregular. Thank you for being you.

I was under the assumption that the JT Irregulars were more or less out from under their radar.... I had thought that they deemed us not so big a threat anymore.I was mistaken! In randomly checking out our stats site today, I found that our local media source IS STILL TROLLING our site to find the newsworthy items on the minds of Racine locals.

What a shame that instead of seeking out news items on their own, they are simply digging in the dirt to find anything worthy of printing and selling to the citizens of Racine.

I'm assuming that we can expect a story on the Google Maps error lawsuit to be featured in the near future.... Unbelievable! Remind me... people are still paying for this paper?????

I'm a member of the Facebook community and I do post silliness there quite often. However, I am astounded by the number of people who post such personal information. They are upset with friends. They put it out there for the world to see. Well, at the very least, for all their friends to see. They are upset with their fellow employees, well, by all means, post it on f/b!

I have a 'friends only' privacy setting and have had no issues. And, golly, if I'm mad at someone in my family, I'll pick up the phone and tell them what is bugging me before I'll put it out there for my entire friends' list to see. How can you mend a fence later on? Do these people think beyond the moment???

Yesterday, I saw a posting where the guy is cussing out someone who was simply teasing him. His post simply showed the world that he had anger management issues and not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Well, I guess that is only my opinion. But have I ever been known to be wrong? (oops...a little humor sneaks in!)

This post is read by everyone on his friends' list, and depending on his privacy setting, could be read by friends of friends, etc. Do folks really want such information spreading like wildfire?? And now that's it out there for everyone to read, how do you mend your relationship?

When I read about all these privacy issues people are having, I keep wondering why they put out such drama for the world to read? Am I out of touch here? Don't you have a responsibility to yourself to keep some things private? Why is the world always at fault if you tell every sordid detail of your life to F/B? Do you really think the entire community cares if you have minor health issues? Major ones, we care...little aches and pains, nope...buck up and live life.

What do I post on F/B? I shamelessly beg for anyone to send me WI Cheese! I ride my pink bike almost daily! I see turtles, snakes, gators. I love my family! Gee, that is certainly stuff you didn't know about me! Oh and did I forget to say that I'm a happy person?

Monday, June 7, 2010

All the old cottonwood trees in the area of a Craig, Colorado , park had some disease and needed to be removed. So they had a chainsaw competition in the park and offered a prize. The following pictures are a result of the competition. Great artists!

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Dear Madame Zoltar

Every Wednesday, Madame Zoltar responds to your queries and comments in her blog, Dear Madame Zoltar. Are the stars in your favor? What to do with that 401K? Find out by sending your questions and thoughts to: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

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